Now that the Ukraine sort of seems to be somewhat under control – now all sorts of distressing news about Iran. So now that is forest on everyone’s minds – people that know nothing about it but use their social media platforms as a way of ‘making a statement’. An Instagram story featured what seemed to be a shooting, unspecified as to locale. The purveyor of this information is an “Instagram acquaintance” – so I direct mailed her asking her what was taking place.
She: The terrorist state of Iran is always shooting missiles at innocent people.
Me: I think this is a diversion – this focus on Iran at this present time. A trick played by who knows who. It isn’t just about a woman not wearing a hijab. It is most complicated and too complicated to be placed on Instagram.
So there are apparently demonstrations against Iran are taking place in Vancouver. People seem to love taking to the streets for causes other than their own. I wonder if they actually think that walking down a street in Vancouver with other people is going to affect anyone or anything or make any difference whatsoever?
I am not the only person, and this is not the only ‘cause’ that focuses on the negativity of other countries rather than dealing with problems at home. This from a Letter to the Editor from The New Yorker commenting on a story about the E.A. movement (Effective-Altruism). It was a topic in the August 15th edition. “The more I read about E.A., the more I wondered why its proponents focus almost exclusively on the developing world and the future, generally ignoring problems closer to home. They don’t seem especially concerned about the hundreds of thousands of unhoused people living in American cities where tech industries has played a role in driving up the cost of housing—even though rich tech-adjacent people seem to dominate the E.A. movement. They don’t appear to talk much about gun violence or income inequity. “ The letter-writer goes on to speak of possible motivations but goes onto to say.”or that E.A.’s find it too uncomfortable to confront issues in which they themselves might be implicated? It ends powerfully” “Its not that being as altruistic as you can, as effectively was you can, is a bad idea….Maybe the first priority should be to clean up your own backyard.”
So at this moment you might just be saying the following:
You All: But are you not doing the same thing? Being negative and criticizing others behavior?
Me: I admit so, Did it briefly. But I am going to blog on – in a positive manner about the problems confronted in Canada. But with an entirely different approach. Being positive and applauding the work that is being done in this country to help correct a grievous wrong and to praise those who are trying to make a difference.
Today is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada. Canadians are attempting to admit to the truth about their treatment of Indigenous peoples and attempting to reconcile with the people that were harmed – going back generations. There will be demonstrations throughout this land – in Ottawa, the capital of this country and in Edmonton. I am blessed, it is just down the street on the South Lawn of the Legislative Building. I will be in attendance. It is important to understand the meaning of those two words. What is truth?
This from Wikipedia: Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.] In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, propositions, and declarative sentences.
Truth is usually held to be the opposite of falsehood. The concept of truth is discussed and debated in various contexts, including philosophy, art, theology, and science. Most human activities depend upon the concept, where its nature as a concept is assumed rather than being a subject of discussion; these include most of the sciences, law, journalism, and everyday life. . Some philosophers view the concept of truth as basic, and unable to be explained in any terms that are more easily understood than the concept of truth itself.[2] Most commonly, truth is viewed as the correspondence of language or thought to a mind-independent world. This is called the correspondence theory of truth.”
I urge you to read the entire Wikipedia article on Truth. It is most uplifting and informative. It goes on forever – ending with a section called Theological Views. It looks at Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. But not the Islamic faith where it plays an enormous role. If I am going to practice what I preach I had best do research, write about it on the blog and perhaps submit it to Wikipedia.
Practice what you preach is to act according to how you tell others to act. “Practicing what you preach is a necessity. If your actions do not match up with the beliefs that come out of your mouth then you are either lying to the world or lying to yourself — either way, it’s wrong. If your actions do not match up with your own beliefs then you are literally a walking contradiction.”
Okay, okay, okay. I will do it. It seems I have no choice.
Where does this idiom come from? The Bible, it seems. The saying is found in Matthew 23:3 and reads thusly: “So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” A person that does not practice what they preach is a hypocrite. Hypocrite is an oft repeated word in the Quran – constantly actually. Oops more work for me again. All I can say is this:
Me: It is a good thing that I am going to live until I am 100 (at least).
Super Ego: Yes, it looks like you have a lot of work to do but it will keep your mind active.
Me: Thanks. That is so important. I do not want to sit around and drool. Although I am quite good at drooling if I do say so myself.
But now we shall turn to the concept of reconciliation. It has two definitions that are applicable. 1. the restoration of friendly relations: 2 the action of making one view or belief compatible with another. This seems to be the best set of synonyms: restoration of friendly relations, restoration of harmony, agreement, compromise, understanding, peace, an end to hostilities, amity, concord; rapprochement, detente; fence-mending.
So this is going to be a short blog with no photographs or humor because I have got to get moving, do some fence-mending, reach some rapprochement and hope for some understanding.
Its dirty work but somebody has got to do it.
To do someone’s dirty work means to do a task for them that is dishonest or unpleasant and which they do not want to do themselves. It is also an amusing song by Bonnie Tyler. You Tube it, listen to it. It will cheer you up, hopefully.
